COLLEGE PARK, Maryland, 11 August 2003 — Michael Phelps of the United States broke his own world record in the 200-meter individual medley here on Saturday, winning in 1 minute, 55.94 seconds at the US Swim Championships.
In his 23rd race over 19 days, the 18-year-old from nearby Baltimore lowered the old mark of 1:56.04 that he set July 25 at the World Championships in Barcelona, where Phelps smashed an unprecedented five world records.
“Wow. That’s all I can say,” Phelps said. “I shocked myself for sure.”
It was the fourth time since June 29 that Phelps has broken the 200 IM world record, which until six weeks ago was 1:58.16 by Finland’s Jani Sievinen at Rome in 1994.
Phelps reached the halfway mark in 54.03 seconds, .30 of a second under his old world-record split.
“I said, ‘I’m going out after it. I’m going out in 54 and try to hang on,’” Phelps said. “I left it all in the pool.”
Phelps does not plan another competitive swim until November in a World Cup event at Melbourne, Australia. But his fantastic finish here will help bring him back into the pool to resume training next week after a brief break.
“Ending on this note fires you up a good bit,” Phelps said. “Having this as my last swim is going to get me back in the water to practice. In the past few weeks I have been through a lot.”
The victory also made Phelps the first man to capture five individual titles at a US long-course meet. All of them came in personal bests. Phelps also won the 100, 200 and 400 freestyles and 200 backstroke here.
By setting American records in the 200 and 400 freestyles and 200 IM here and the 400 individual medley and 200 butterfly at Barcelona, Phelps is the first man to own five US marks since Mark Spitz from 1972 to 1974.
Spitz’s legacy will be Phelps’ target again in a year at the Athens Olympics when he tries to match the legend’s record haul of seven gold medals from the 1972 Munich Games.
“Athens is a year away. That’s the only focus right now,” Phelps said. “I’m not trying to be the next Mark Spitz. I’m trying to be the first Michael Phelps.”
Phelps, who swam here in events he rarely enters as a way of testing himself, will decide in September which events he will try to swim in Athens. US Olympic qualifying will be next July in Long Beach, California.
“Olympic trials are going to be extremely fast,” Phelps said. “There are still a lot of small things I can do to go faster.”
In taking his 15th career US crown with the 200 IM triumph, Phelps beat runner-up Kevin Clements by 3.62 seconds and then pumped his fists with joy, a more excited celebration than his usual “Number One” finger wave.
“It shows he loves to race and he can get himself ready to do whatever he wants to do under pretty much any circumstances,” said Bob Bowman, Phelps’ coach, who bet his star pupil that he would shave his head for a sub-1:56 swim.
“That was big motivation,” Phelps said. “Little things push me.”
Bowman’s reply: “I was hoping it would be 1:56.01. Guess I’ll be shaving my head sometime soon. My hair is not that long anyway.”
Phelps took advantage of a relaxed atmosphere and gambled with a fast start, even though he does not seem to have discovered any limits.
“There are certain times and places for this,” he said. “Being at the end of the season it’s a pretty good situation. If I did it at worlds, I don’t think it would have worked too well. It could have come back to haunt me.”
